Wednesday, May 30, 2007

Well, damn. If I wasn't fully back in the saddle already (my foot was caught in the stirrup; what can I say?) an early morning cruise of the Massachusetts-area blogs gave me all the jump-start I need to get heavily back into this blog life and my people! It all started with a belly laugh or two at Laurie's. Nice rack! And the story, repeated by Mamacate, of Laurie (leave it to an anesthesiologist) calling the 800 number on the side of the keg, "Hello? We're the middle-aged knitters who rented the keg and we can't figure out how to tap it..."

Well, I tell ya. That's about all it took. Better than an early-morning cup of coffee are early-morning laughs. Thanks, guys. And then all the pictures of all my missed dear friends. I think I'm back. You made me wish I was there and so sorry I missed Cummington, and on top of missing New Hampshire just a few weeks back ...... well, at the risk of being repetitious: damn. When's the next event? I'm on my way!

Monday, May 28, 2007

Well, that remains to be seen. But I'm here tonight. One day at a time, ya know.

I do worry that I'm getting a bit repetitive with the gardening recaps after all these years of blogging, but today was indeed a gardening day. It started out with great promise, but sort of fizzled out at midday when it became very dark and cold. So dark and cold it drove me inside. I'm not usually so wimpy, and I could have used the dark-and-cold dreariness to maybe go buy some plants and stuff, but...I don't know...one loses one's enthusiasm for the planting when it is no longer warm and inviting out there. It became so much like dusk, and threatened to rain (but didn't), that I forgot until it was truly dusk to go take some photos that I wanted to share with you. Funny how it turned out that I actually rather like how the flash photos turned out. The strange weather of late seems to have been welcome to many of the plants -- they are huge and healthy and lush. Many oversized buds are "this close" to opening. Sadly, the weeds are as lush and plentiful as the flowers.

Dinner came from the garden: An asparagus-Jarlsburg quiche with brown rice crust, with a fresh spinach salad.

LONG OVERDUE MAGIC 28 SOCKS NEWS:

I keep forgetting to show you these beautiful Magic 28 socks knitted by

Elaine (aka Beebs) from Maine. She says that along the way, she perfected Kitchener grafting, short-row heels and even knitted a toe-up pair. But the very best part is that, with the exception of the bright yellow, every other bit of yarn came from her stash. Most of these socks will go to the Dulaan Project and CIC, and some of the lighter-weight ones will stay closer to home in Maine. She's still knitting, and is well on her way to completing her goal of 28 pairs. It took me so long to post this that she probably has already done it. Well done, Beebs!

And these beauties are from Marianne:

I've seen this same photo posted on Ryan's blog, so I know these are going to Dulaan. Keep on knitting those Magic 28's, everyone!

Speaking of the Dulaan box, I taped mine up this weekend and will be mailing it tomorrow. It's got 30 items in it -- fewer, I think, than years past, but it includes 11 pairs of socks (each pair counted as one item), a full cardigan sweater for a child, and two vests, as well as the usual hats and neckwarmers and scarves. It's a heavy box, and I feel pretty good about it.

AND, you might want to sit down for this news. I knitted something this weekend. No, really! I did! I was very pleased to find that I had not forgotten how to knit, and even to purl. Just like a bicycle. Really. Have you recovered from your vapors yet?

With the temporary heat wave we had, I got inspired to drag out the Ribby Shell I started last summer and continue on. It is ridiculously close to being finished.

It is even more ridiculously close to being out of yarn. I am very, very concerned that I am not going to have enough. I made the top of the back shorter than pattern specifications, and that is probably a stupid thing. I have big, wide shoulders, people. This is not good. I am hoping against hope that this silk yarn will do what every other silk knitted garment I've ever had does -- stretch like a motherf*cker. My logic is extremely weak, though, because if I recall correctly, the stretching is widthwise, not lengthwise so much. I may be screwed. We shall see. But this yarn is long since discontinued, and even if it weren't, I don't even know the color number anymore. I may end up ripping the entire thing out and striping it with the dark rust yarn I have of the same brand (Berroco Denim Silk). Bummer. But whatever. The important part of the story is.....wait for it......

Friday, May 25, 2007

Knock-knock! You weren't expecting me, were you? Well, I just thought I'd drop in and say hi. It's gotten so bad, it's come to this: A non-knitting, non-blogging person very dear to me has recently said, "Knit something, will ya?! And blog about it, for Pete's sake!"

Well, I haven't gotten that far yet, but I have spent a few minutes reading a few blogs tonight, and I even commented on a few. It's a start, right? And it feels good.

Ab's home, and her boyfriend is visiting. As always happens when they are here, my work has gone insane. At first I was bemoaning the fact that it "always seems to happen when they're visiting," then I realized that it often happens when they're not here, too -- it's just that it seems more noticeable when I'm trying to be a mom and entertain and all that stuff.

I love you guys. The other day several of you said, "Go out and play!" Well, I did just that. I played hooky for a half day. And it was wonderful and restorative and lots of other good adjectives. I came up with a new way to use my knitting row counter. (see? knitting content! almost.) I won't tell you what the new use is, but I'll post a picture to elicit a laugh from someone who knows what I'm talking about.
Do you hate inside jokes? Sorry about that. I'll owe you something in penance.

The weather. Come on! This is ridiculous. It was seventy gazillion degrees yesterday, after being nearly 30 Fahrenheit earlier in the week. Memorial Day Weekend has totally sneaked up on me. My seedlings are not hardened for outdoors, and I have not even THOUGHT about planting the vegetable garden or the outdoor planters or any of that. I sweltered at work yesterday, then came home smelly and droopy and finding everything in the flower gardens suddenly overgrown and weedy. All the flowers, from April to July bloomers, have been forced into bloom at the SAME TIME. It's too hot to sleep, and I have no idea even how my asparagus is doing out in the garden, as I haven't had a chance to go look. Cripe almighty.

Yep. Nuttiness as always here at my place, but I am feeling more like myself, and it's good to be back. I love you. And you, too.

Monday, May 21, 2007

....and so it's done. We're going to miss that campus. It has been a positively wonderful four years, and I can recommend that institution without hesitation.

I came home to a boatload of work and a very busy rest of the week ahead, so I'll just share a few of my usual crappy photos with you, followed by an Abigail vignette.

self-explanatory

....she and best friend Tyler (note all his academic decorations) ham it up for the camera.

..and again...

I adore the walking stick, capped with a tricorn hat ornament, that each graduate received...

a very empty campus

...some favorite buildings

Abigail spent the last three years as a resident advisor, so she had to be one of the very last to leave campus, as one of her final duties was to check out the students on her floor, inventory their rooms, and report to the Office of Residential Life the condition of the rooms as they were left. We were packing up her things, and as each student came to her to leave off their keys, she'd go to their room and do the inventory. There came a point when we were about all packed up with her stuff, but she could not leave yet. The stack of inventory forms was sitting on her desk. I started reading through her comments on the forms. I'd see such things as, "Nice clean room," "hole in wall near bathroom," "broken window screen," "towel rack hanging off wall," "nothing to report."

Then I came to my favorite one: "Crap all over the walls."

Yep. Still my daughter, even after her high-priced education. I could not be prouder.

Friday, May 18, 2007

Monday, May 14, 2007

Ever feel like you just want to get on a plane and go somewhere far, far away?

Yeah. Me, too.

On the upside, I had one of the best (maybe the best) yoga classes I've ever had yesterday. Strong and focused and in good form. And when I got home, I saw that the hummingbirds had, at long last, arrived.

Saturday, May 12, 2007

Life has dealt me some wild cards lately, and it has clammed me up pretty tight. I'm still not feeling terribly articulate or interested in the blog. I have not read any blogs, and have answered very few emails, for several days now. But right now I have something to say.

A few weeks ago I told you about a stupendously wonderful yarn shop that I had stumbled upon, and that I felt like a schmuck for not having discovered it sooner. The reason is it is right in my town on Main Street, and it was run by two long-time friends of mine. I promised to get back there and take photos and tell you the full story and to introduce you to its proprietors.

I didn't make it in time.

More on the story here and here, and you can search around that website for more obits and stories. The article entitled, "Shocked," could have been written by me -- or rather, I could have been one of the interviewees and I would have said exactly the same words.

When I was there, Gwen told me that she had knit nights on Thursdays, and hoped I'd be coming regularly. I told her I couldn't wait, but that Thursdays were my longest days for work, and I had a class at the university that took me too late to make it, but as soon as classes were over, she could count on me being there. She was as excited as a little girl. My last class at the university was two weeks ago, and last Thursday I had another one of those all-night jobs, so I could not make it. Thursday of this week never came.

Gwen was a gifted fiber artist, and one of the most humble and beautiful people I've ever met. She and her husband were electricians, and they wired our home when we built it 20 years ago. Her taste in everything -- be it quilts, rugs, antiques -- was exquisite. A story told at the memorial today was that her first entry in a quilt show won 2nd prize. It is on display at the Shelburne Museum. I also know that she did quilt restoration for them.

There is much more to the story, but it's not something I will write in this forum. Suffice it to say, I hurt. I just got back from the memorial service, and it was lovely.

If you feel moved to send donations in Gwen's memory, please see the requests in the paper articles and the memorial pamphlet above. I never got the chance to show her the power of bloggy love while she was alive. Maybe we can do it posthumously.

Tuesday, May 08, 2007

Monday, May 07, 2007

Why didn't anyone tell me (okay, Sandy, you did, but allow me some leeway here, will ya?) that Ringsurf is such a damn spamfest?! Every morning, there are 20 or so submissions to join the ring, from the usual suspects -- ringtones, Lev*tra, V*agra (cheap!), V*codin, et bloody cetera. Do these people actually get anywhere with these things? Note to spammers: I'm all set with my V*agra supply, thanks.

Fair warning to anyone who is thinking of starting a ring with them: They have no spam filter. Crap, crap, crap. Plus, I hate that woman who stands there on the page saying, "Welcome to Ringsurf!" in an endless loop. Uggggh.

It's not that laborious to remove the spam if there are no legitimate submissions to the ring that day. You can click "delete all," and it's done. But in case there are legitimate submissions, you have to be careful and read through all that junk. Just a big annoyance.

--------------

Here's an actual excerpt from a transcript I was working on this weekend.

Q. Do you have any specific information that suggests that Joanna Jones* --A. I don't know.

Q. Let me complete the question, so that Norma can get this down. Do you have any specific information that suggests that --A. I have none.

Q. Let me finish -- that Joanna Jones wrote this letter?A. I have none.

The black-and-white transcript does not show the frustration involved for the questioner, but you can probably imagine it. So would this be premature enunciation? I wonder: Do they make a sort of V*agra for that?

Anyway, how'd you like to do this for a living?

Okay, those were my kvetches of the day. Bye-bye. I'm drowning in work again still, and today is a reprise of last Sunday's performance. Aren't you glad you popped in for this?

*name changed to protect the.... well, to protect me, I suppose. I don't know if I'm to be considered innocent.